Chapter 3: "Wait, Where Am I?"
The chapter opens within the fading warmth of the dream world. Riya and Merlin rest side by side after their intimate magical bond. The air around them feels thinner, unstable. Merlin looks unsettled, not by emotion, but by something deeper—magical imbalance. She tells Riya that she can no longer sense his physical location. It's as if his body has been moved, somewhere. She urges him to wake up, her expression serious for the first time.
Riya awakens with a gasp—not in his bedroom, but inside an unfamiliar office. The room is cold and vast, lined with arcane tomes, ancient relics, and magical artifacts pulsing faintly with power. Runes dance across the walls. It's quiet—too quiet.
Before Riya can gather himself, a man enters: tall, composed, with long silver hair and eyes that seem to see through everything—Zelretch, one of the most powerful beings across all timelines. Their encounter is immediately tense. Riya, confused and raw from what's happened, demands answers. He doesn't trust this man, doesn't even know what questions to ask first.
Zelretch, in his calm yet imposing way, lays out the truth:
• Riya is no longer in his original world.
• Every female Saint Graph has vanished from the Root, an act that has thrown the timeline into chaos.
• Those Saint Graphs now reside inside Riya himself, sealed within his soul after his mysterious awakening.
The absence of Chaldea in this timeline combined with the absence of female Servants, has caused a massive singularity, threatening the foundation of human history.
• And whether he likes it or not, Riya is now humanity's last remaining hope.
Still numb from the dream realm, and unaware that his family was killed in an explosion shortly after his disappearance, Riya struggles to comprehend what Zelretch is saying. Everything feels like a sick joke—a dream within a nightmare. His sarcasm begins to crack under the pressure, revealing anger, fear, and confusion.
Zelretch, in his usual enigmatic way, offers no comfort—only purpose. If Riya wants answers, if he wants to take back control, he'll have to step into a war far bigger than anything he's known.
The chapter ends with Riya sitting alone in the office, fists clenched, surrounded by the weight of his new reality. The last line echoes in his mind:
"You carry the power of countless heroes, Riya Riot. Now it's time you decide what kind of man you'll become."